Babies Swimming Lessons

We are just three months into the year 2010 and we have already seen dozens of news reports on both near and fatal drowning accidents of children under the age of 14. We consistently hear about how to prevent illness and the importance of wearing a safety belt in our automobile, but it seems we have lost sight of the importance of water safety. Drowning death tolls continue to increase throughout south Florida. With residential and community pools in most neighborhoods as well as water parks, the ocean and lakes families cannot escape the dangers of the water. This is why it is absolutely necessary to provide infants and children with basic survival skills in the event that they should fall into water.

It takes only three inches of water to create a drowning environment. The face only needs to be submerged in this small amount of liquid to drown. Babies swimming lessons are taught as early as the age of six months. Baby swim lessons are considered self-rescue swimming lessons as they are intended to increase a child’s survival rate in the case of an accidental fall into a body of water. Babies are taught to hold their breath as well as how to turn from face down to face up in the water into a floating position. They are taught to rotate, turn face up, relax, float and cry for help.

Infants learn this life saving technique through repetition or sensory motory learning. Babies are taught to respond that water on the face means to close their mouth and open their eyes. Babies swimming lessons are not a 100 percent guarantee that a child will not drown. It is instead a safety tool that a child learns to increase their chance for survival upon falling into the water and as parents we work towards this goal in everything we do for our children. From immunization to a nutritious diet, baby swim lessons are simply a healthy precaution to help our children grow strong, healthy and safe lives.